"I'm home!" I called like I did every afternoon as I swung the front door open.

"Hi, Honey!" My mom's answer came from the kitchen. Following her voice, I walked down the hall and dumped my backpack on a chair. Turning around, I saw my mom placing plates covered in bubblewrap into a cardboard box.

"What are you doing?" The entire room was nearly empty. The countertops bare and drawers vacant.

"Packing." She replied bluntly.

"Why, exactly?" I pressed.

She brushed her hands off, walked over to me, and said, "The pack is moving."

I widened my eyes, "WHAT?"

"Yeah! Across the country!" My little sister exclaimed, popping up from behind the countertop with a smile. She ran around the side of it and sprang into my arms.

I staggered as I caught her weight, "Oh, really?"

"Uh-huh! It's going to be an adventure!" She cheered, her little eyes bright with excitement.

Settling her onto my hip, I turned back to my mother, "Okay, what's going on?"

She grabbed my hand, "I'm sorry, April, I know you don't like surprises like this, but we just decided this today."

I narrowed my eyes, so confused. "What do you mean?" I glanced at my sister, "May, why don't you go play, alright?" She looked dejected, but didn't protest, merely nodding as she slid down my side. A second later I heard her footsteps running up the stairs.

My mother happened to love names that are months of the year, maybe because her name is June. I have a brother named August, and we get teased for it often.

"Remember when the war ended?" I nodded, focusing back on Mom. I was ten years old at the time. "Well, I did some research and found out we are related to Emerald!"

I gawked at her, "Emerald Williams? No way." Emerald was a name that had come up in every werewolf's conversation at least once in the last seven years. She was kidnapped by her grandfather, Jack — who was leader of the Hunters, our enemy — and held in his mansion for two months. The rest of the country's packs searched in vain for her, while also trying to defeat him once and for all. The stories say they were trying to destroy Emerald's wolf from the inside, but it failed due to some sort of magic she possessed. No one is really sure if those rumors and tales are true though, except for Emerald herself.

In the war, my pack combined with all the other packs in the Western side of the United States. We succeeded in confusing him enough to leave us alone while he made his way East, but when my father and the other leaders of the West Pack heard about Emerald's kidnapping, we sent a group of enforcers out to help. Most made it back home, but there were a few weeks of grieving afterwards for the ones that didn't. I didn't participate in the fight myself, as I was still a child, but I remembered Dad leaving for a while to go help. We're lucky he made it back.

When the fighting was finally over, the West Pack split back to its original separate packs of the Westside. Everything went back to normal. At least for us werewolves.

"Yes, April. Emerald Williams," Mom said. "It's pretty distant, so I doubt she knows either. But while it's not like she's your aunt, she and her family are the only living relatives we have now. So I thought we could move out pack to a territory near there!"

My confusion turned into excitement. "Wow, really? That's cool! How exactly are we related to her, then?"

Mom clapped her hands excitedly, "We are like sixth or seventh cousins with her! This rarely happens, but we have the same last name as her!"

I stared at her. "Um, Mom, our last name is Anderson, not Williams."

She rolled her big brown eyes. "I know that! But Emerald's maiden name is Anderson."

"Really?" She nodded.

"Now why don't you go start packing your room. We are leaving early Friday morning." She went back to emptying the kitchen out.

"That's so soon!" I couldn't believe we were leaving that fast, and we were moving the entire pack. Our pack is the Waning Moon Pack and it's one of the bigger packs in the western side.

"Yeah, so we've got a lot to do in three days!"

I sighed and grabbed my backpack from the table chair, heading to my room. I passed a bunch of pack members scrambling about the halls, darting in and out of rooms as they hurried to prepare themselves for the move across the country.

I burst open the door to my room, shutting it behind me, cringing a little. The walls were still painted a light yellow color with flower designs on the walls. I never felt like changing it and now I realized how childish it is. And now I was going to be leaving it behind.

I threw my bag down by my desk and started seperating my stuff into piles on the floor. I spent nearly four hours packing. At 8:00, I went across the hall to May's bedroom to help her get ready for bed. I read her a book and tucked her in.

"April?" She squeaked as I was leaving.

"Yes, May?"

"Are we going to like the new place?"

I came back over to her. "I hope so," I whispered as I kissed the top of her head. "Go to sleep." I turned out her lights and went down the hall, back to my room.

Seeing my backpack on the floor at my desk, I growled at myself for forgetting my homework. An essay was due tomorrow and it had totally slipped my mind when everything about the move had piled on me when I walked in the door. I sat down at my desk and opened my laptop. Ugh, I hated essays; it was going to be a long night.